Rosemarie Alexander

Updated | July 16, 2014 – 11:15 a.m.

The recall has been expanded to include additional dates. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation send out a press release today confirming the affected products were sold in Alaska.

Recalled products include:

• All Foster Farms, Sunland Chicken and private label poultry with the establishment numbers “P6137,” P6137A,” or “P7632” inside the USDA mark of inspection
• Foster Farms products with “use or freeze by” dates of March 16 – March 31, 2014 and Aug. 29 – Sept. 2, 2015
• Sunland Chicken products with “best by” dates of March 7 – March 11, 2015 and Aug. 29 – Sept. 2, 2015

A complete list with updates is available on the USDA website.

Original Story | July 9, 2014 – 5:50 a.m.
Some Alaskans are among the more than 600 people nationwide infected by salmonella after eating boneless skinless chicken breast products from Foster Farms.

The company has recalled the chicken, which has been sold in retailers under the Foster Farms and Sunland Chicken labels. The company has had to recall other chicken products within the past year.

Last fall the USDA issued a public health alert after salmonella was reported in several states including Alaska. The Food Safety Inspection Service could not confirm the illnesses were connected with specific products and dates.

In the current recall, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says 29 states are reporting individuals infected with salmonella heidelberg.

Consumers should check their freezers for Foster Farms products with “use or freeze by” dates of March 16 to March 31, 2014.

Sunland chicken products have “best by” dates of March 7 through March 11, 2015.

Consumers should not eat the chicken.

Salmonella symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain that may begin 12 to 72 hours after eating the tainted food.

Salmonella can even be fatal in people with weak immune systems.

Juneau police believe they have a suspect in connection with a racial incident that marred the parade at the end of last month’s Alaska Native Celebration festival.

The Michigan man also is being investigated by the Secret Service and is wanted in Hawaii for threatening people.

Alexander Logan Libbrecht, 32, is being held on $25,000 bail in Lemon Creek Correctional Center on charges of fourth-degree assault.

Juneau Police Lt. Kris Sell says Libbrecht yelled racist slurs and threatened a black woman last week on Gold Street.

“He didn’t access a weapon or touch her, she was in fear based on the fact that he was calling her the ‘N’ word and saying he was going to bash her head in, and he’s in a rage walking up and down the street,” Sell says. “She was very frightened.”

Libbrecht’s behavior was similar to that of a man who allegedly yelled racist slurs during the June 14 Celebration parade, grabbed an American flag carried by an Alaska Native veteran, then ran, shoving people in his way, even knocking a woman down.

“We are working with some photo line ups with witnesses to that. Also his behavior is very consistent with what happened at Celebration,” she says.

Police believe he was the same man that knocked over Main Street traffic barricades just before the flag incident.

It’s not clear how long Libbrecht has been in Juneau, or why he came here. On June 26^th, the U.S. Secret Service asked JPD for assistance in contacting him for an interview regarding threats he made against President Barack Obama as well as a New Jersey attorney. Lt. Sell says the threats were left in voice mails during telephone calls made from Juneau to the New Jersey attorney.

“Mr. Libbrecht was interviewed about a couple of things – first his threats against the president of the United States and also his threats to kill an attorney in New Jersey, who had previously represented Libbrecht in a different case. He threatened to stab and kill that attorney along with the attorney’s wife,” she says.

Libbrecht was arraigned in Juneau Superior Court late last week for the Gold Street incident.

“The Secret Service agent testified telephonically in court that the first interview was with Mr. Libbrecht in 2010. There was a subsequent interview, I believe, in 2012, then this most recent interview,” Sell says.

She says police have no indication that Libbrecht has ever gotten close to the president.

Libbrecht also is wanted in Hawaii on charges of terroristic threatening.

“The charges in Hawaii stem from an incident where he threw large rocks at people on a beach, ultimately clearing that beach of people who were recreating there,” she says.

JPD investigators knew about the Hawaii charges when they started investigating  Libbrecht for the Celebration incident.

Hawaii court records indicate Libbrecht was arrested last October, held on $9,000 bail then released when bail was paid by a family member. The court ordered a mental evaluation, the results of which were not part of the accessible record.

According to court records, the prosecutor in that case had to get a stalking protective order against Libbrecht, because he threatened her.

After he failed to appear for a hearing in March, a judge issued a $100,000 bench warrant, meaning if he were to be arrested again in Hawaii, bail would be set at $100,000.

JPD Lt. Sell says she believes Libbrecht is dangerous. In addition to $25,000 bail set in the Juneau case, he can be released only to a third-party custodian.

Crime did not take a holiday on the Fourth of July.

Juneau police report a house burglary while a Lemon Creek resident watched the fireworks in town Thursday night. On Friday, a man had his vehicle stolen while he was watching the parade.

Police say a man who lives in the 5800 block of North Street reported coming home about 12:30 a.m. Friday to hinges broken off a door into his garage. The thief apparently got away with two ceramic jewelry boxes, several two-dollar bills, collectable silver coins, a Tlingit “Lovebirds” bracelet, a platinum ring with several small diamonds, a silver bracelet with flower designs, and a single gold earring with a blue stone.

Police say anyone with information about the missing items or the burglary should log onto Crime Line, or call JPD at 586-0600.

During the Fourth of July Parade, a 54-year-old Juneau man told officers his 2004 Toyota pickup had been stolen while parked in a lot near the 10th Street and Egan Drive intersection.

While he was talking to officers, he saw the truck traveling through the intersection. Police officers quickly stopped the vehicle and arrested Stephan Robert Anderson, 24, on first degree vehicle theft. Anderson is being held in Lemon Creek Correctional Center without bail. Police say the truck was not damaged and alcohol was not a factor in the incident.

Juneau’s Independence Day parade starts at 11 a.m. Friday.

The staging area is the Alaska Labor Department building parking lot at the corner of Egan Drive and the Juneau-Douglas Bridge.

The parade will start up the mountain side of Egan Drive, turn left on Main Street, right on Front, down South Franklin Street to Admiral and Marine Way and back on the waterside of Egan Drive.

This year’s theme is “I love a parade.” Grand Marshal is Dick Garrison, usually seen playing his trombone in the Fourth of July marching band.

After the Juneau parade, a number of floats will cross the bridge for the Douglas parade, followed by activities at Savikko Park.

Juneau police will be out in full force for the entire holiday weekend, says Lt. David Campbell.

We have one guy that’s on family medical leave, but pretty much every sworn police officer, from the chief of police to the newest rookie, is scheduled to work this weekend.”

Campbell reminds parade-goers and partiers that the open-container law is still enforced, even on the Fourth of July.

Juneau’s July Fourth fireworks display over Gastineau Channel starts at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The sounds can be heard for miles.

Throughout the country, animal shelters and humane societies are warning pet owners to keep their dogs and cats away from the sounds that scare them, and if that’s not possible, be sure they’re in a safe place they cannot escape.

More pets are lost over the Fourth of July holiday than any other day of the year. But in my Mendenhall Valley neighborhood, firecrackers, bottle rockets, Pop-Its and cap guns can be heard just about any time of the year.

While consumer fireworks can’t be bought or sold in Juneau, they are legal to use.

The sound terrifies a number of dogs in the area.

My 55-pound border collie, Captain, becomes a whimpering baby. He shakes his way into my lap, or tries to crawl under furniture. After he broke through two louvered closet doors, we set up a large kennel in the house. Now he knows it’s his special spot and goes in on his own to wait out the noise.

If your dog has noise anxiety, start thinking about it before the fireworks blast.

“I had a Labrador that was really sensitive to fireworks and would start barking and barking and barking when the fireworks went off,” says Matt Musselwhite, executive director of the Gastineau Humane Society.

Before taking the job, Musselwhite was head of Animal Control. He says a lot of calls come in over the holiday about dogs that take off, hoping to escape the blasts.  (Be sure your pet has identification tags.)

Find another place for them to stay over the Fourth of July weekend. If you have friends somewhere out of the noise area that you can take them to, that’s a great option,” Musselwhite says.

That may not be an option, so be prepared to protect your pet at home. Do not leave a dog outside during fireworks or thunderstorms. Have a safe retreat inside. Close the windows and doors, put on white noise or background music. Comfort your dog.

Some folks advocate a Thundershirt or anxiety wrap for your dog, even a tight t-shirt; like giving Fido a constant hug.

Dr. Steve Torrence at Southeast Alaska Animal Medical Center says it might work for a mild case of anxiety.

“It puts pressure around the front part of the chest and stimulates the parasympathetic  nervous system and that’s the opposite of the sympathetic nervous system, which is the fight-flight mechanism,” Torrence says.

Some pets even require medication for their noise anxiety. If it’s that bad, visit the vet so your pet gets the proper dose.

“Most drugs are dosed on the basis of milligrams per kilogram body weight and most of them are going to have a dosing range,” Torrence says.

All medications have potential side effects or risks, and some breeds don’t handle certain drugs as well as others.

That’s why we’re going to want to have examined the dog, especially to listen to its heart. Make sure it’s got good heart, good respiration, no mental problems,” he says. “And if the dog’s got a heart problem or something like that, you’re going to be less likely to want to sedate the dog.”

Some local canine organizations like Grateful Dogs of Juneau and the Capital Kennel Club have proposed a ban on consumer fireworks. George Utermohle with Grateful Dogs thinks Juneau’s July Fourth or the winter celebration at Eaglecrest Ski Area are enough fireworks.

“Go back to system where the only fireworks are those authorized by a permit issued by the city and by the fire marshal,” he says. “It would give people opportunity to plan, to anticipate.”

Take the time to prepare for the noises your canine or feline companions may hate.

Juneau’s Alaska Electric Light and Power has merged with Spokane-based Avista Corp.

The sale was announced in November and the $170 million purchase closed on Tuesday.

At closing, Avista Corp. issued about 4.5 million shares of common stock to Alaska Energy and Resources Company shareholders at just under $32.46 a share. AERC is AELP’s parent company.

Avista is a mid-size utility that sells electricity and natural gas to nearly 700,000 customers in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of Oregon. With the purchase of AELP, Avista Utilities acquires an additional 16,000 electric customers.

AELP Consumer Affairs Director Debbie Driscoll says they will not see any changes in day-to-day operations in the short term.

Part of the contractual agreement was that when the deal closes everything remains as is or better for the next two years,” Driscoll says.

That includes retaining AELP’s Juneau headquarters and its more than 70 employees.

Avista Communications Manager Jessie Wuerst says Juneau may not be the company’s only entry into Southeast Alaska.

We’re an investor-owned utility, so we’re always looking for opportunities to bring value to our shareholders and Southeast Alaska is certainly an area that has opportunities in it,” Wuerst says. “So we’re looking.”

She says 51 percent of Avista power generation comes from renewable sources, including hydroelectric, wind and biomass. Avista also owns part of a coal-based generation plant in Montana.

Avista started as Washington Water Power on the banks of the Spokane River in 1889.

AELP was founded in 1894. The Corbus family bought into the utility in 1896 and has been majority owner since.

When former president Bill Corbus announced the Avista agreement in November, he said the company provided the best cultural fit.

Driscoll describes her fellow employees as excited about the merger, especially for the financial resources the bigger company brings.

“We’ve just expanded our resources significantly. There are changes in the industry, innovative improvements in the industry, smart grids, things that we can possibly now afford and maybe before it would have been too much of an impact to our customers from a rate standpoint,” she says.

AELP operates Snettisham and Lake Dorothy hydroelectric facilities as well as several smaller hydro projects and back-up diesel generation.

Note: Story updated at 9:40 a.m. to clarify that the no-change clause in the Avista agreement applies to daily operations.